As is well known, most conventional coin-operated newspaper vending machines in general use today are of a type having a normally locked door hingedly mounted along its lower edge which is unlocked and released by inserting in an associated coin mechanism a coin or coins sufficient to pay for a single newspaper. When the door is released by the coin mechanism, the customer swings the door downwardly to open same and thus gains access to a stack of newspapers in the machine. Generally, the customer will take a single newspaper from the stack and thereafter permit the door to return under spring pressure to its closed and locked position. It has been determined, however, that some customers will insert a sufficient amount into the coin mechanism to pay for a single newspaper, but will then remove more than the one newspaper from the stack in the machine. In fact, occasionally a customer will remove all remaining newspapers from a vending machine once the door has been opened, even though only a single newspaper may have been purchased.
Another drawback of such conventional types of newspaper vending machines reside in the fact that, as indicated above, the door is normally urged toward closed position by a spring means. A considerable force is applied to the door, and is present in progressive amounts as the door is moved toward its fully open position. Accordingly, after a customer removes a newspaper from the vending machine and releases the open door of the machine, the spring means causes the door to return rapidly to its closed position under relatively high pressure. The door thus closes in a violent manner and hence produces considerable noise. Not only can such closing noise irritate the customer or some other person who may be nearby, such violent closing of the door could also cause injury in the event that an arm or hand is in the path of travel of the door during its return to the closed position. Moreover, continued physical impact of the door during closing could cause damage to the dispensing unit, per se.
Prior attempts have been made to provide a dispensing apparatus that overcomes the aforementioned problems. Certain of these improved units have met with some success such as the type described in the aforementioned parent application. Further improvements are, however, still possible. The dispensing apparatus of the present invention affords such improvements in providing a device that will dispense single articles; is simple to operate; and will enjoy a long, maintenance-free life under normal operating conditions. No known prior art anticipates the apparatus of the present invention. Exemplary of the known prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 378,945 to Katz; 517,412 to Martel; 895,899 to Schenck; 1,744,112 to Frey; 2,099,344 to Mills; 2,351,779 to Niewoehner, and 3,425,596 to Marczak et al.